The Fire Guys, a forum for firefighters, fire families, and fire buffs. Join us and stay tuned for some really cool stuff.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
I Wonder?..Hmmmm
Do you have a questIon for the fire department? Ask away, leave us you comments or questions in the comment box. We'll answer them the best we can. If we don't know the answer we'll find it for you or try to anyway..
Remember, be Smart... Be Safe... BE READY! Fire Marshal Bob
Saturday, April 7, 2012
HOT SPOTS - 3/30/2012 - 4/6/2012
WOW WHAT A WEEK!
Hello everyone. I hope you had a good week. It proved to be a busy one for the fire guy's and gals. last Friday and Saturday were very busy. High winds Saturday were a challenge for our crews. We had a structure fire late in the morning that was caused by two twelve year old boys playing with illegal fireworks, firecrackers and bottle rockets to be exact. The "two utes" (great line from a movie) were lighting them from an open bedroom window, and were also lighting them by using a paper towel outside. You can guess what happened next. The fire started on the exterior of the home. Instead of calling the fire department the boys decided to try to extinguish it with a garden hose. Fortunately for the boys a neighbor had called 9-1-1 and our guys were on the way. One of the boys took the garden hose into the house and was going to try to keep the fire from spreading into the home..... a problem with his theory was that the garden hose was not hooked up to a spigot. Oops! About this time Captain Rekoutis and his crew arrived. They quickly deployed lines and got the boy out of the home. Almost as soon as they got him to a safe location, the fire breached the window and was ready to start its work of destruction inside the home. If the fire fighters had not taken quick action this boy would have been in more than just trouble with his dad. Nice Job C shift!
Shortly after 2:00 PM the same day, another structure fire call came in. As battalion Chief Dean Williams pulled up to the scene it became apparent that this was no ordinary house fire. The fire started in an attached carport/shed and with the help of the wind quickly gained a head of steam and into the home. What made this fire different is that when Chief Williams arrived, not one - but two homes were well involved with fire. He quickly did his size up and Called for a second alarm so we could address both fires. Fortunately everyone was out, and safe from both homes. Crews were able to extinguish both fires in about 30 minutes of aggressive offensive firefighting, followed up by a couple of hours of what we call "overhaul". Investigators worked through the debris but there was so much damage that an exact cause was hard to pinpoint but it does appear to be accidental.
Well these are just a sampling of what went on. There were numerous calls for help this past week. In al the fire department responded on 71 fire or hazardous conditions calls. The medical end of what the fire department does is no exception. Our crews responded to over 190 calls for medical emergencies. This weeks stats don't include any of the Public education, Inspections, training, and maintenance that our guys do. As you can see the West Valley City Fire Department continues to be one of the busiest departments in the western United States, especially when you break it down to call volume per capita, and man hours.
Hope you enjoy these updates. Remember if you've got a question or comment we'd love to hear from you.
As always, BE Smart.... Be Safe... BE READY!
Fire Marshal Bob
Hello everyone. I hope you had a good week. It proved to be a busy one for the fire guy's and gals. last Friday and Saturday were very busy. High winds Saturday were a challenge for our crews. We had a structure fire late in the morning that was caused by two twelve year old boys playing with illegal fireworks, firecrackers and bottle rockets to be exact. The "two utes" (great line from a movie) were lighting them from an open bedroom window, and were also lighting them by using a paper towel outside. You can guess what happened next. The fire started on the exterior of the home. Instead of calling the fire department the boys decided to try to extinguish it with a garden hose. Fortunately for the boys a neighbor had called 9-1-1 and our guys were on the way. One of the boys took the garden hose into the house and was going to try to keep the fire from spreading into the home..... a problem with his theory was that the garden hose was not hooked up to a spigot. Oops! About this time Captain Rekoutis and his crew arrived. They quickly deployed lines and got the boy out of the home. Almost as soon as they got him to a safe location, the fire breached the window and was ready to start its work of destruction inside the home. If the fire fighters had not taken quick action this boy would have been in more than just trouble with his dad. Nice Job C shift!
Shortly after 2:00 PM the same day, another structure fire call came in. As battalion Chief Dean Williams pulled up to the scene it became apparent that this was no ordinary house fire. The fire started in an attached carport/shed and with the help of the wind quickly gained a head of steam and into the home. What made this fire different is that when Chief Williams arrived, not one - but two homes were well involved with fire. He quickly did his size up and Called for a second alarm so we could address both fires. Fortunately everyone was out, and safe from both homes. Crews were able to extinguish both fires in about 30 minutes of aggressive offensive firefighting, followed up by a couple of hours of what we call "overhaul". Investigators worked through the debris but there was so much damage that an exact cause was hard to pinpoint but it does appear to be accidental.
Well these are just a sampling of what went on. There were numerous calls for help this past week. In al the fire department responded on 71 fire or hazardous conditions calls. The medical end of what the fire department does is no exception. Our crews responded to over 190 calls for medical emergencies. This weeks stats don't include any of the Public education, Inspections, training, and maintenance that our guys do. As you can see the West Valley City Fire Department continues to be one of the busiest departments in the western United States, especially when you break it down to call volume per capita, and man hours.
Hope you enjoy these updates. Remember if you've got a question or comment we'd love to hear from you.
As always, BE Smart.... Be Safe... BE READY!
Fire Marshal Bob
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)